Tag Archives: benjamin padero

art reflects a culture’s past or current state of being. it is the artist’s way of expressing opinion or emotion. we have only skimmed the surface of macau’s art scene and based on what we saw, it may be “safe” but at least it is alive. here are some of the pieces we saw in galleries and on the street.

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chanced upon a gallery exhibit on print artworks. gorgeous pieces by local artists and beyond, though im not really sure. the pieces evoked history and culture, very inspiring. this one here is a detail of a beatiful reductive woodcut print, “buddhist travellers,” by wu shuai wei.

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a traditional piece of clothing at the macao national museum. jaw dropping detail on the embroidery.

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i love street art and i love mosaic in hongkong and macau, and this one here is street art and mosaic together. so awesome

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a marble sculpture on one of the tombs at cemiterio de s. miguel arcanjo along beco do almirante costa cabral in macau. the cemetery gates were open and based on google earth photos, this was one location i would love to see. clean, peaceful, gorgeous. and did i mention clean?

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a small gallery shop out of nowhere. around the time we came about this area, all the shops were still closed. they were expected to open at 11am. lots of quirky art pieces.

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somebody threw or left a pair of shoes in one of the alleys in macau. what to do? strike a pose. art in macau was generally better than in malaysia. it felt more at ease and not stifled (by the government or religion, maybe).

musings, travel

macau in 6 photos, part 2

photo blogging about macau. part 2 na ni.

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was able to travel to macau recently because we got nominated at the 10th Asian Film Awards for our design work in Heneral Luna. they covered airfare and hotel accommodations so of course we had to go! but more on that later. we decided to stay 2 extra days in macau just to go around. we were there between march 13 and 18. here are some photos.

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peeked through the glass window of this barber shop. the folks in macau generally dont mind getting their photos taken without permission. they just stare at you then go back to whatever they were doing. i obviously would not want to intrude so there are very few people photos in my collection

 

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fascinated by the layout of their corridors and streets. it was between 14 to 19 degrees celcius when we visited and everybody wore their parkas and heavy jackets. im not sure if it were warmer weather there would be more locals out in the street, like how it is in the Philippines.

 

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macau is clean. coming from manila, i would say macau is spotless. so it was a hoot finding this spot where the pavement hasnt been swept. while in the Philippines this dirty look would be normal, in macau this would be the exception.

 

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i took a lot more photos of macau’s mid rise buildings when i was there. so awesome. loving the simple commercial stores on the ground floor and that the remaining 2 to 7 storeys were residential (i think, i havent really asked but i assumed haha). a blogger commented the streets of macau looked the same in lisbon or wherever in europe.

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evening lit shop with carlo as an unwitting model. as we were near the tourist district a lot of the shops were marketed for tourists. it’s awesome that there were more food stores for tourists than there were tshirt and ref magnets stores. egg tarts, beef jerky, and pastries are the go-to pasalubong stores here.

 

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gorgeously laid out street and decked with lanterns. why is it so clean??? im jealous. we noticed the locals, when eating out in public spaces, they automatically cleaned up after themselves and threw their trash in properly spaced out waste bins all over the city. drivers respectfully letting sidewalk pedestrians cross first. no overspeeding except on major highways. taxi drivers giving exact change.

musings, travel

macau in 6 photos, part 1

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musings

HENERAL LUNA: the film that went there

been trying to write this particular article for weeks now. started this when HENERAL LUNA was still on its 3rd week and now, the film is enjoying its 5th week in the theaters (and almost on its 6th! fingers crossed). still overwhelming, really.

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ive done movies for quite some time now.. small ones. not so small ones. mostly independent features. jerrold tarog. brillante mendoza. erik matti. pepe diokno. tikoy aguiluz. even a shelved project with chito rono. in all projects and in every opportunity, we work hard in each one of those features, regardless of scope, budget, and intention. successful at the box office or not, we’ve done that movie and we still do more movies.

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art & design, costume design, filmmaking, interior design, movies, musings, set design, sketch

shooting heneral luna part 1

HENERAL LUNA is in the last stretch of school tours and promotions prior to the movie’s release on september 9, 2015 and artikulo uno has already released a series of behind the scenes featurettes, including a production design video featuring carlo and myself. however, let me take you further behind the scenes and the design process for one of the sets featured in the current trailer, including trying to meet requirements for our first day of shoot.

a lot of the movie’s intense scenes was staged in this convent room where president aguinaldo’s cabinet staff would meet to discuss (argue) plans for the impending conflict against the americans.

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we’ve started reading and studying the heneral luna script august of 2013.  the script called for the cabinet meeting to happen in a convent. historically, the philippine government often had to move around and meet where it would be convenient and church convents would be akin to board rooms/conference rooms in our modern life setting. by this time, our govt had been driven out of manila and aguinaldo held office in the provinces. i started researching on visual pegs with photos of convents in the 1890s and any local government meetings i could find.

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musings

magpa-practice tayo araw araw!

the sprite tv commercial airing locally in the philippines last december may be confusing to some, knowing there was an indian version of it (click here to watch it). sometimes when a company’s tvc from some other region becomes successful, clients either allow that tvc to air in other territories or produce a similar ad with local talents and reflecting local culture. this sprite commercial is a mixture of both.

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the gorgeous teacher, chalo apni chaal, from the original is clearly indian, with her sari costume, and the scene set in some church with vaulted doorways and stone walls. the reverse shot of the guys can pass off for the pinoy tv audience, though they are not necessarily filipino looking. we only needed to replace the shots of the teacher then.

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somewhere in the series of meetings with creative heads, it was decided we avoid situating our version in a church. i tried to find a non-sectarian location that would tie up to the high-ceiling space and big doorways of the boys’ reverse shots (and maybe nobody will notice the left side of the shot that showed the painted glass windows). i thought a backroom of some auditorium or the side of a stage could nicely pair it up without getting too left field. cinematic license if you must. some groups do use backstage areas for music rehearsals or hold workshops where music equipment are kept.

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my initial inspiration for the set design was the westminster abbey in the da vinci code, which actually used the interiors of the lincoln cathedral in the movie. so i was putting the church feel and merging it with the backgstage look. sketched out the set design on my ipad for presentation.

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eventually the set design was revised to look like this (with photos of instruments scattered all over the set because i was trying to build less flats (panels) and install stage curtains on the right for illusion of depth. id have the rolling scaff as foreground as well. agency wanted me to add some filipino string instruments in the background so i added hegulungs (or kudyapi, depends on who you ask).

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refining my paper app drawing of the set design with real-world measurements by going the google sketchup route by the time we started construction. this became the color guide as well for my painters.  further reduced the number of flats in this version, thereby cutting my construction costs further down. i also utilized the actual look of the studio if ever anything would be “peeking” beyond my built set.

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here’s the finished set, dressed up and lit. head carpenter (setman) is the famous abrio. on the guitars behind the drum set is cinematographer odie flores.

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we cast patricia tumulak, a pageant beauty currently groomed for binibining pilipinas, as the teacher. i hope she makes it to the top. more stills from the shoot

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production house: filmex
director: ianne co
cinematographer: odie flores
production design: benjamin padero
wardrobe stylist: carlo tabije
assistant director: kristi gallaga

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art & design, filmmaking, laundry therapy, movies, musings

i cam i saw i cam

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cesar hernando, production designer for most of mike de leon’s films (batch ’81, kisapmata), sent us invitations to revisit the college of fine arts at university of the philippines and celebrate our organization’s 16th year anniversary last saturday, 25th of october 2014. that org is CAM, Cinema as Art Movement. generally a group of film enthusiasts from fine arts who love to watch and dissect films, the org evolved to encouraging students to work on their own cinematic masterpieces and involving more to see cinema beyond entertainment. the broadness and loftiness of the concept that embodies the org’s name may lead to its own downfall but the org strived to meet each generation of members’ goals for the sake of cinema. and art. 16 years later and even 10 years since my batch has graduated, the argument on what the org really should be remain diverse; its implied goal elusive.

CAM’s pioneering members include esquire magazine’s editor-in-chief erwin romulo, photographers gary buenavista, richard de guzman, j lucas reyes, film cinematographer eli balce, and graphic artist tom estrera iii. some of the org’s advisers and supporters are cannes winner raymond red, cinematographers larry manda and dindo martinez, and independent filmmaker mes de guzman.

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long ago its membership was exclusively fine arts students until the group, under my leadership in 2002, opened to accept students from other colleges in UP. we enjoyed a strong physical presence in the fine arts halls that year, aided by a healthy number of members, and even went as far as leveling up the org’s indie video film festival, inyorai, to become an intercollegiate event and saw entries coming in from ateneo, la salle, and PLM. towards the 2nd half of the year, we planned to hold workshops on various aspects of production with the hope that members and students would have the necessary know-how to produce their own works. a school year is too short and we were only able to hold 2 workshops and it was like starting from scratch the year after. such is life for a school organization.

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photo of past and present chairheads of CAM

that saturday we did find ourselves again in the hallowed halls of hogwarths, communing with ghosts from the past and stray cats of the present. i was late coming into the program so i had no idea what was being discussed earlier. i had to introduce myself to the kids.

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so it is with a reassured heart that we leave an impression with the young ones to continue what he had hoped to accomplish back in the day. however, i do fear (i believe) the key to success for this so-called movement lies with the alumni. and maybe even outsiders who can pursue that grand idea and move the call forward. this movement can no longer be contained in a college organization whose lifespan is limited to periods the length of a school semester before restarting its programs or do an overhaul with every new enrollment of students. maybe it’s time we pick up the camera again, this time armed with real world know-how and connections beyond the world of the academe.

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class picture! i love you new cam members but i dont know all your names. on the front row are alumni from left: jopay cuntapay, peta stage writer and actress anj herjuela, tv commercial director mike talampas, esquire editor-in-chief erwin romulo, prof cesar hernando, myself, bates ad agency acd jhem manalang, prof ruben de jesus, comic book illustrator aj bernardo, graphic artist tom estrera iii, gma agency hotshot jimi diga, comic book writer and editor noel pascual, and chorva.

*special thanks to anj for sharing the last three photos in this article. for more information on Cinema as Art Movement, check out the group’s facebook page.

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musings

end of roll

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shooting the last day of our shake rattle and roll part xv episode 2 today. it’s evening and my energy has gone down by 10.30pm. the dust in the house and maybe the weather (it’s been raining since after dinnertime) has kicked in my asthma after all that laughing this afternoon.

we’re trying to finish two big sequences with an average of 10 2-cam shots each before 3am but i reckon we’ll finish by daybreak. everybody’s brought sweets and pastries (and more food) to honor the last shoot day traditions and that might also have pushed me into my current compromised respiratory state. im trying to keep still, hoping the wheezing would also follow suit.

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6 hours after and maybe 30 minutes into the next day’s sunrise, when all are basically walking dead, we finally hear our director call out, “it’s a wrap!” to new friends, old ones, and in-betweens, we love you all!

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clockwise from top: bernard (2nd cam), mackie (dop), ara (scriptcon), bryan (sound), jerrold behind me (director), myself, relyn (ad), jaja (pa).

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art & design, costume design, filmmaking, movies, musings, set design

the 15th shake

we’re roughly midway shooting through the 2nd episode of regal film’s widely anticipated horror anthology, shake, rattle, & roll, now on its 15th version. carlo and i are working again with jerrold tarog (director), mackie galvez (cinematographer), and benjamin tolentino (editor). we did our first SRR episode years back for punenrarya (blogging about that here) and got a lot of notice for that episode, especially from the brilliant performance of our lead, carla abellana. this time she’s back working with us along with dennis trillo, john lapus, and the magnificent chanda romero. watch out for SRR 15’s 2nd episode in december 2014!

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art & design, costume design, movies, musings, set design

HENERAL LUNA Teaser is out!

the film we worked on for about a year of our small, insignificant lives (compared to fallen heroes who fought for our liberation) just released a teaser trailer! sharing with you a glimpse of the biggest movie we’ve all worked on, so far! i give you jerrold tarog’s HENERAL LUNA!

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directed by JERROLD TAROG cinematography PONG IGNACIO production design BENJAMIN PADERO & CARLO B. TABIJE music JERROLD TAROG editor JERROLD TAROG catering JERROLD TAROG free coffee JERROLD TAROG sunscreen JERROLD TAROG (kadaghan bas imo ngalan diri JERROLD TAROG) screenplay JERROLD TAROG ED ROCHA HENRY FRANCIA producer ED ROCHA executive producer FERNANDO ORTIGAS

please like our HENERAL LUNA facebook page.

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art & design, costume design, filmmaking, interior design, movies, musings, set design

ABOVE THE CLOUDS BEHIND THE SCENES: Production Design

during the shoot of pepe diokno’s 2nd full length feature, ABOVE THE CLOUDS, last year, bradley liew, a malaysian filmmaker, was tasked to create short featurettes for the film’s behind the scenes. bradley and pepe were able to release the first two featurettes that discussed the director’s vision and our 2 lead actors even before we finished shooting the whole thing. the 4th episode in this series, released just a few weeks ago, was about the production design and featured us 😉 as much as the requirements on paper seemed simple enough, it is not. whether you are designing for 2 actors on screen or 500, all film projects require careful planning and attention to detail. watch this vid and see if we actually made sense. the shoot of ABOVE THE CLOUDS took almost a year to do so my hair also went into different lengths and feels haha. cheers!

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